my gpa is....subpar

L

Longhorny630

1,000+ Posts
mostly due to lack of effort, but, i can think of a few classes i wasn't ever going to do well in. my question is this, what options does an engineer with a below 3 (above 2.5!) that has no job leads, no internship leads (and since a lot apparently require above 3.0, none coming), that should graduate on time (next may) have? my only "real" work experience came doing software testing for a small austin company and my only A is in History of Rock.
 
sounds like me but with law.

fortunately i found an ABA lawschool to accept me...

I then had a poor GPA (i hate school and studying, and could never motivate myself even knowing the consequences).

I out dueled the high GPA kids in interviews for a coveted family law position in downtown miami, after passing the bar.

So, somehow I managed to climb over the grade barrier, but it took a lot of hard work (outside of school).

Now only experience will purge my grades, and I will never work in a big time law firm (nor would I want to anymore, despite the money).

Good luck, and start networking NOW.
 
Which engineering? Don't worry about it. Stick with it, finish up and continue looking for a job. Engineers are in demand, you will do fine.
 
You'll get interviews (the poster above is correct about the demand)....the key will be how you address the issue of a subpar GPA.

My advice.....own up to it. Don't make excuses, blame teachers, GW Bush, etc. Come up with your one sentence answer that takes ownership and expresses a desire to work hard and prove its not a reflection of the type of engineer you'll ultimately be. Hard to do....but not impossible.
 
aerospace

yah, i mean, if i were to explain my lack of effort in college (and high school, which required no effort), i'd have to take the peter gibbons route and say motivation. no kids, no wife, no dependents of any kind to require me putting an effort, but by interview time, id more or less have some of those that would get me out of bed in the morning.
 
"I have found that life hands us lessons that we can learn from or ignore. I goofed around as a young man but have been lucky enough to realize how important it was to focus on my career and myself. I have learned how to manage my time, resources and responsibilities in ways I never would have dreamt of in school. I am fortunate to be where I am now and look forward to excelling further in this field, hopefully here with your company".

something like that but make it your words and your intonation. They know you are bs'ing and they are too. It is the game. But as said above, own up to it, you were wrong, you were young, you are a man now...are you 40?
 
similar deal to when I got out, except that they were throwing money at anyone who could spell engineer ('97). I had like a 2.8, but with a little higher gpa in my major.

I went in to more of a project management type of position right out of school. They were hiring engineers to do non engineer work, but still in a tech industry. Moved in to sales and got laid off and now am back working as an engineer; but not really in my studied field (EE).

For your friends/classmates that did get jobs already, pester them for leads and get them to circulate your resume. Try to get in to talk to as many people in the industry as possible. I went ahead and interviewed with a company that told me they weren't hiring. I just insisted that if they still had some time carved out, I would like to pick their brain.

Turns out they knew a former colleague (pres. of another company) who might be hiring and set something up so that he would be expecting my call. Eventually got hired on there.
 
I got into SMU Law in '03 with a 2.8 and a 165 LSAT.

My path was a bit like yours. I started in EE and ended up in Math at UT. I was pretty good at math but horrible at the engineering.
 
I have never once been asked my gpa in a job interview. But then again, my profession is performance-based anyway (architecture).
 
As someone who interviews engineers I'll say this... The GPA matters... a little bit. It really will depend on how well you do on the technical and personal interviews. If you ace that, then I won't really look at your GPA. BUT, if you do similar to someone else, then I'll use work experience and GPA as a differentiator. (When I don't see a GPA listed on the Resume... I assume it's a **** GPA)

If you never cared about school (effort wise), then it might seem that you won't really care about work...

Good luck though, I have a few co-workers who had sub 3.0 GPAs and they do just fine in the real world.
 
I've interviewed a lot of engineers over the years and hired quite a few, so here's a couple of things to consider for what it's worth:

Try to identify and get an engineering job that you'll really enjoy doing, even if it's not very sexy work. One that you can't wait until Monday morning to get back to. You'll excel and over time doors will open for you despite your grades. Studies have shown that people who are passionate about their work, regardless of the financial rewards, ultimately succeed financially much more often than those who are only in a high-paying career for the money.

If grades come up, bring up relevant classes that you did well in and explain that you're especially motivated by interesting work. And, coincidently, this job looks like interesting work.

Are there any extracurricular or outside activities where you demonstrated some leadership? Self-employed in any way? That can go a long way. Leaders are hard to find so grades are less important if you can offer leadership skills.

Most of your interviews will be technical. Go prepared. Brush up if you have some idea of what you might be asked.

Research the employer and ask questions of the interviewers that indicate you know something about their technology and would be interested in contributing.

Don't ask how close the nearest beach is to Austin and how good the surfing is (actually happened). Also, don't ask about benefits, vacation, etc. HR will fill you in if you get an offer.

Be a few minutes early for the interview, look sharp, act confident, but not arrogent.

Good luck!
 
I was in a similar situation (PGE, '05). I had a bad GPA, not because I couldn't handle the material, I just hated studying and couldn't for the life of me get motivated, even knowing that my future was in jeopardy. Somehow I managed my way back to a 2.67, and even that was a miracle. I also know the frustration of companies having GPA requirements, as most of them would not even talk to you unless you had at least a 3.0. Then after that, a lot of them wanted at least 3 years experience. Well, kind interview person, how the hell am I supposed to have experience when I'm just now graduating and you pricks won't even look my way because I have a sub-3.0?

Anyhooo, I'm doing great now. I have a good job in my field that pays quite well. Just keep your head up and keep at it. Something most definitely will come along. Network, talk to professors (it was a professor who landed me 2 interviews, one of which I took the job), classmates who have jobs lined up. Just anything you can think of. It won't happen tomorrow or next week, but it will happen eventually. And don't get discouraged when you hear a "no", there will be a lot more of those than "yes'".
 
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